Rivals
by Alstroe
Summary: How would you feel if your best friend suddenly decided to go live on a mountaintop? The evolution of Blue and Red's relationship.
1. Looking

I don't own Pokemon. If I did, I'd be writing scripts, not fanfic.

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One year, they were the best of friends, excitedly jabbering and shoving pokemon books in each other's faces.

But the next year, they were Ten. They knew that they were all grown up, that they had to be interested in adult things. So Blue snubbed his friend, because friends and games were for little kids. And Blue had time for neither.

And the next year, they were eleven, taking on the world with their little monsters. Blue had his eevee and Red his pikachu. Their rivalry grew and grew, the trainers becoming downright nasty. Both denied the fact that they'd ever been friends as they raced from town to town, badge to badge.

But when they were twelve, there was a greater evil. Team Rocket was hurting pokemon. Both trainers fought valiantly, albeit separately. But Red started gaining something that Blue lacked- for how little the boy spoke, he was much more emotive and caring for his pokemon. So even though Blue stayed one step ahead, he was always looking over his shoulder, afraid of his shadow.

By the time they were thirteen, Blue had said goodbye to his raticate, and through his grief had managed to become Champion. He hated it. Too many lights, cameras. Too much pressure.

So when they were fourteen, and Red beat Blue, becoming champion, Blue was relieved. He took over Giovanni's old gym, and was happy. And little by little, they began to patch up their relationship. Red started talking to him more and more. Soon, they were once again best friends and confidantes.

Red came to Blue's gym one day. He had said it was urgent, so Blue closed the gym.

He started, nervous. "Blue, I can't take it anymore. Too many people. You know." Blue nodded. "So I'm going to Mount Silver to train."

"Yeah, right," Blue scoffed. No one could survive on Mount Silver. Even if someone could, why would they want to try?

"I'm serious." Red looked him in the eye. Blue became serious when he saw his friend wasn't kidding.

"You can't do that! You'll die!" he said, incredulous. Please stay, he thought.

"I have my pokemon. I'll be fine. And I thought you of all people would understand. I need to get better. I need to do _something_."

Blue wanted him to stay but couldn't, just couldn't say the words that might have convinced Red. So instead he looked down and said the words he would regret for years to come:

"You're still as pathetic as ever."

Red's face hardened, and Blue's last glimpse of his best friend was a flash of his red hat as he ran out of the gym, hating Blue. Blue didn't like himself too much at that moment either.

So the years went by and to Blue's surprise, Red stayed and thrived on the mountain. The champion baffled the Indigo League- could he still be champion if he lived up on a mountaintop? The League had never before required challengers to climb foreboding Mount Silver. So even as the legend of the boy with the mahogany eyes spread throughout Johto and Kanto, Lance the dragon master was appointed champion in Red's place.

Blue was angry at this. Red deserved the title much more than that pretty boy with _a cape._ But it wasn't his place to argue with the League, so he stayed quiet. He also secretly was happy. Now without the pressures of the championship, maybe Red could return to Pallet. But Blue also doubted the boy even knew of his demotion. He hadn't even contacted his mother since the day he left.

Or so Blue thought.

One day Blue decided to take a small break and visit his grandfather at the lab. He hadn't called to tell him, knowing his grandfather would find it a delightful surprise. Plus, he wouldn't remember even if he called, the forgetful old man! Blue chuckled at his grandfather' antics. It was only about a few hours' walk to Pallet from Viridian, but Blue took the whole day to train his pokemon in the forest on the way. So when he reached the lab, it was already nightfall and Blue was exhausted. He walked into the lab and was about to call out that he had arrived, but he heard his grandfather talking in the next room over. Professor Oak always had calls, but Blue took pause at his grandfather's words.

"For your pikachu, yes. You don't need anything else, do you?"

There are plenty of pikachu trainers in Kanto, he thought, brain working rapidly. But, what if?

Blue crept towards the wall dividing the rooms and poked his head over the divide. His grandfather startled, having heard him, and quickly hung up the videophone.

But not before Blue had seen a flash of a red hat, a quizzical look in those mahogany eyes.

It hit him right in his gut. _Red._ Red, Red, Red.

His grandfather turned around quickly, too quickly. "Oh, Blue! I wasn't expecting you!"

Blue just looked at him, eyes like daggers. The professor winced.

"You've been talking to him this entire time?" he said, voice low. "And you didn't tell any of us how to contact him? Not even his mother?"

"Red said he would sever contact if I did that! I had to try to help him on this ridiculous quest. I didn't want him to go upC there either!" Blue had his back turned to Oak and the old man reached out for his grandson. Blue spun around, knocking the old man off balance.

"We care about him too," he said, on the verge of tears. He ran outside the lab, and his grandfather hastily followed.

"Pidgeot!"

"Blue, wait!"

But Blue was gone in a cloud of hurt and anger. All the professor could do was go back inside and sigh. He thought about calling Red back to warn him that Blue knew now, but couldn't risk the teen severing contact. Plus, he thought, I've hurt Blue too much already for one night.

Blue was so angry he could barely even think straight. His grandfather had been keeping this secret from everyone for how long? Three years? Blue gritted his teeth against the wind and pushed his pokemon even faster.

When he arrived back at his gym a few minutes later, he jumped off the bird-type and recalled it in one swift motion. Blue burst into his gym, heading straight for his room and started throwing his things into a bag. He was on autopilot, ready to leave any moment until he realized he had already overworked his pidgeot that night. Fine, he decided. I'll leave in the morning.

"You rest tonight, Pidgeot. We've got a long trip tomorrow," he told the red and white ball.

The next morning, Blue rose even earlier than usual, and sat down to write a note. To who? He didn't care. Probably Gramps, maybe even a challenger. At this point, he just needed to leave. But only after sitting there for half an hour did he come up with this:

_Dear whoever,_

_I need to get out of here. I need to find Red. I don't know what I want to tell him, but… I just need to go. It's been too long already. I need to tell him what I didn't._

_So don't come looking for me- the place I'm going only a champion could survive._

_Smell ya later,_

_Blue_

With that, Blue jumped on his pidgeot and headed for the snow-capped peak of Mount Silver.

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Author's note: After suffering a bit of writer's block, I came up with this. Expect the second half by this weekend, although it may be sooner, I just have to give it the finishing touches.

Please R & R!

~Sofia


	2. Found

Here's the last part of "Rivals." Thnaks for reading!

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Blue had known it wouldn't be easy to get to Red, but he hadn't expected it would be _that_ hard. After all, as much as he may have matured, at his core Blue was still a particularly cocky ten year old boy. So as soon as Pidgeot had climbed in height about halfway up the mountain and the hail made it too hard for the bird to continue, Blue cursed. He had expected to just Fly there, but he supposed this was a bit unrealistic if the League had demoted Red for that very reason: the mountain was almost impossible to climb. But not for me, Blue thought, and had Pidgeot land up the mountain as far as he dared ascend on the back of the bird.

Blue staggered back as the wind hit him and he quickly recalled his pokemon. Wrapping his coat closer around his body, he began the long trudge to the summit.

It was nearly night by the time Blue was close to the top, and he was freezing, so he began looking for a nearby cave to rest in for the night. He stumbled towards a craggy cliff, figuring he could scare any zubat away with his arcanine. But as soon as he went inside, he noticed the cave looked… inhabited. Could it be? he thought. Is this Red's?

Blue scanned the room for signs that it was Red who lived here and not just some hiker. Messy sleeping bag, frying pan, extra pokeball… wait! A journal.

Blue glanced around before sneakily picking up the leather bound book. He opened to the first page.

_Wow, getting here was tougher than I thought it would be! It's so pretty up on the mountain in the spring, and Pikachu really likes it here. _

_Gotta go train!_

_Red_

Blue gasped, almost dropping the journal. I've found him. Red _lives_ here. But where is he? Blue thought. He hurriedly flipped to the last page with writing on it.

_I talked to Professor Oak again today. I needed some more small pokemon food for Pikachu. But he hung up on me, and I think I know why. I saw Blue, and I know he saw me. I bet he is so mad at me… Why am I even here? The League removed me from my position and no one ever comes to challenge me and my best friend hates me… I'm going to go take a walk. The next blizzard shouldn't start for an hour or so, judging by the clouds. I don't know what to think anymore._

_Red_

Blue closed the journal. Red was so upset, he thought. That was yesterday. So where was Red now? Probably out training. I guess I'll send the night here and talk to him in the morning.

So Blue curled into a ball on the cold, hard ground and fell asleep, waiting for his friend to return.

The dawn broke and faint white beams of sunlight shone into the cave. Blue opened his eyes and sat up. There was no Red in sight. The sleeping bag looked exactly the same and the clothes strewn around were still there, not added to or moved. A chill went down Blue's spine. Where is he? he thought uneasily. Something wasn't right. Should I go look for him? He's probably just training, he tried to reason. But that's when he spotted the belt, sticking out from under piles of clothes. Blue walked over and picked it up, hands shaking. Five full pokeballs were in their slots. The only empty one had a lightning bolt carved into it. He's not training. The only pokemon he has is Pikachu, and he's stuck in a blizzard. Blue started shaking and rushed to the mouth of the cave. He was blind to his safety, only caring about Red's. He had come this far for a reason and he wasn't one to back down from a challenge. So he took a deep breath and started out again, into the heart of the storm.

Where would I be if I was Red? he thought, trying to guess where Red would take a walk. Maybe the summit. I bet it's a beautiful view in clear weather. And Blue trudged through the snow, not knowing where he was going, just heading up.

After what seemed like an hour, Blue reached the summit of the mountain. He sighed a breath of relief at getting there intact and then peered through the raging snow to look for Red. Anything.

So he was kind of surprised to see Red just staggering through the storm with something in his arms. And then he fell.

It only took Blue a split second to recover from his surprise before he started moving as fast as he could through the storm to Red. He ran up to the boy, the one he'd worked so hard to get to and found he was only semi conscious. "Wake up! Wake up, damn it!"

Red forced open his eyes with effort at the Blue's efforts to wake him. His mahogany eyes were unfocused and glazed. He glanced up at the boy looming over him with a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Is that you, Blue? Why are you so far away?" He squinted, then rolled his head back in Blue's arms and laughed. Blue cringed at the sound.

"Why didn't you come see me sooner, Blue? I've been here forever and ever and ever," the boy complained.

Blue had no words. He just looked at the boy in his arms and shook his head. It's true, he knew. But he couldn't come see Red. He just couldn't.

By the time he looked at Red again, his eyes had closed even further. "Pikachu won't wake up. He's so cold, so he had to go to sleep." Blue swallowed, realizing what the still object in Red's arms was.

"Come on, let's get you home, buddy," Blue said, his voice thick. He knew Red had critical hypothermia, so he needed warmth, fast.

Red was shaking so hard that Blue practically had to lift him off the ground. The boy leaned heavily on Blue's shoulder. Blue called out his arcanine and jumped on his back, gingerly lifting red up and holding on to the boy. Then Blue told Arcanine to run as fast as possible back to cave.

They made it there in record time, but Red was fading fast. Blue hurriedly rushed the boy into the cave and put him inside his sleeping bag. He also tried to take Pikachu away but Red whimpered when he did, so Blue let him cling to the corpse. Arcanine helped Blue build a fire next to Red. But the boy was having a hard time even keeping his eyes open. Blue pleaded with him, telling him stories and talking to him. He wouldn't let Red go to sleep. He kept up the mindless chatter. But Blue knew Red couldn't really hear him.

Blue stayed by Red's bedside throughout the day, but he could see Red slipping away, his mahogany eyes getting duller and duller. Despair started to eat at Blue's stomach. And then Red spoke up.

"…Blue?"

"Yes, Red?" Blue was shocked- he didn't think Red could speak anymore, let alone recognize him.

"Pikachu's dead, isn't he?"

Blue froze. He wanted to tell Red differently, he wanted to spare him the truth, but he couldn't.

"Yes."

Red's sigh was one of the most sorrowful sounds Blue had ever heard.

"And I'm dying too." It was little more than a scared whisper.

Blue refused to answer.

Red sighed again. "Blue, you are the best friend I could have ever had."

Blue stared in shock. What about that day so long ago? Why? he wanted to ask.

But Red must have seen the questions in his eyes, because he smiled weakly and said, "Late. You were late. But you were also the only one who's ever come after me."

He paused.

"Sometimes," he said slowly, "that's the only way to find out who really cares about you."

Blue eyes welling with tears met mahogany ones rekindled with a bit of their old passion. But suddenly, Red twisted, staring at something beyond Blue's shoulder, his moment of clarity gone. Blue followed the boy's eyes but couldn't see anything.

"What is it, Red?"

Red didn't answer right away, reaching a shaky hand out to feebly grasp at his vision. "It's the prettiest thing in the entire world."

Red's eyes closed completely but he still reached for the mysterious object.

"Red, you're scaring me. Wake up!"

The boy's head lolled and his arm dropped. He mumbled "It's so pretty. Come visit me, Blue."

Then there was no more sound. Blue checked his pulse- nothing. He stroked his rival's face, but there was no warmth there. Red was gone.

Blue stayed there in the cave in shock. What just happened? Why did he have to come only in time to see Red die? What would he tell Red's mother? And most of all: why?

Only then did Blue's stoic mask break. He bowed his head and cried over his rival's body.

Later, much later, Blue finally understood why he went up to the mountaintop. It wasn't that night, when he released Red's pokemon, violently sobbing and screaming at them to leave. It wasn't the next morning, when he stumbled into a Pokemon Center dragging his frozen rival's corpse behind him, crying and covered in snow. It wasn't at Red's funeral, a confusing and depressing affair for all, not the day that he felt able to return to his gym, nearly mute like his late rival was, and not when Leaf came back from Johto to sit in silence with him. It was the day a perky young trainer with a typhlosion walked into his gym and demanded a match. The boy couldn't have been more than thirteen, and Blue, despite himself, smiled at the trainer's optimism and drive. They battled, the fire-type overcoming the gym leader's type advantage to make his trainer proud, and the talent of the boy reminded Blue so much of someone.

Red.

Leaning on the gym's door and watching the boy skip off down the path with his new badge, overjoyed at the thought of Pokemon League up ahead, Blue was shocked to find that his face was wet with tears. He thought of his pokemon, how they hadn't been trained well since Red's death. What would Red think about that? Blue grimaced at the answer. He looked up to the billowing clouds and sighed.

"Red, I'm sorry. I fell apart after your death. But I'll try to keep moving- for you, for my pokemon."

Blue's voice was thick, but he kept speaking. "Red… I-I think I loved-" he swallowed. "I think I love you. I'm sorry."

He was sorry for what was said, what wasn't said, and what wasn't done. But he let his words float away on the wind and walked back inside, feeling better than he had been since Red left.

By the next month, Blue was himself again. The gym was pristine and his pokemon were in wonderful condition. To relieve his grief, he threw himself into his gym, and it showed. He knew he'd always hurt, but it was better now.

One day, a perky young trainer came to his gym- this time with a meganium. She was just as talented as the boy, but she lost by the slightest margin. She vowed to be back soon to win her badge, and Blue welcomed the challenge. But she reminded him of someone… I should call Leaf, he thought. And that he did.

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Author's Note: I hope you'll review :) But more importantly, I hope you liked it and I hope it made you feel something.

Thanks for reading. You'll hopefully see more chapter fics from me someday soon.

~Sofia


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